A candidate for the Steelers’ Mt. Rushmore is working with the team at this week’s minicamp.
Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson has joined the Steelers this week as a coaching intern, a brief return to coaching for Woodson after spending the 2011 season as the Raiders’ cornerbacks coach. In 2012, Woodson was out of coaching after the man who hired him, former Raiders owner Al Davis, died and the organization made wholesale changes. But despite his first coaching job coming to an end in an abrupt way, Woodson said he learned from that job that coaching is what he wants to do.
“It was a great opportunity,” Woodson told the Steelers’ website. “Unfortunately Mr. Davis passed away midway through the season. We didn’t play the way we wanted to play down the stretch. We finished 8-8. The defense played sporadically throughout the year. But it was a great experience and gave me the learning curve of coaching. You have to look at the game differently.”
Frankly, it’s surprising that Woodson has to settle for being a coaching intern, rather than getting a job on some team’s staff. Woodson was respected both for his physical gifts and for his intelligence as a player, and he seems like he’d be a natural as a coach. He’ll surely have plenty of wisdom to pass along to the Steelers’ defensive backs.